Gananath Obeyesekere, a renowned anthropologist, passed away at 95 in Sri Lanka. His influential career was marked by insights drawn from diverse intellectual traditions, including Hindu philosophy, Freudian analysis, and Christian mysticism. Primarily teaching at Princeton, he became a critical voice on issues like colonialism and cultural pluralism. His significant work, "The Apotheosis of Captain Cook," published in 1992, contested prevailing narratives regarding Captain Cook's death in Hawaii, arguing that the locals did not see Cook as a deity, thereby reshaping understanding of cultural myth and colonial encounters.
Gananath Obeyesekere, an anthropologist whose insights drew on Hindu texts, Freudian psychoanalysis, and Christian mysticism, was a leading intellectual figure in Sri Lanka and Western academia.
His book The Apotheosis of Captain Cook challenged the belief that Hawaiians thought Cook was a god, sparking significant discourse on cultural interpretation.
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